On December 21, 2013, Shivam Parikh of Troop 111 was honored for achieving the rank of Eagle Scout, at a Court of Honor ceremony held at the Fremont Senior Center. (He had actually earned his Eagle Scout rank on June 26), at the age of 14. Shivam is one of the youngest boy scouts to receive the Eagle Scout rank.

Shivam joined scouting in 2006 as a Webelo Scout and has been a very enthusiastic scout ever since then. Mission Peak District Commissioner Mr. Neely opened the Court of Honor. The ceremony was well attended by family, friends, scouts and adult leaders of Troop 111, Principal Mr. Zach Larsen of Mission San Jose High School (MSJHS), teachers and two respected community leaders Ð Ms. Lily Mei, President of FUSDÕs School Board and Ms. Anu Natarajan, Vice Mayor of Fremont.

At the pinnacle of Boy Scout accomplishments is the rank of Eagle Scout. This is the highest rank in scouting, and is a lifelong title, so ÒOnce an Eagle, always an Eagle.Ó Achieving the rank of Eagle Scout requires years of dedication and hard work. Scouts must demonstrate their readiness through personal skills, leadership and commitment to their community, exceptional aptitude, motivation and perseverance. To become an Eagle Scout, Shivam earned 25 merit badges, served in various leadership positions in his troop and undertook a service project to help his high school. In addition, Shivam demonstrated, through the testimony of character references and otherwise, that he lives by the principles of the Scout Oath and Law in his daily life. Finally, he appeared before a Board of Review to present his credentials and make a case for earning the rank of Eagle Scout. Historically, less than five percent of Boy Scouts have earned the rank of Eagle Scout.

ShivamÕs Eagle Project benefited his high school, Mission San Jose High School in Fremont where he built four benches at MSJHS, including one handicap-accessible bench, to provide students with an area to sit and wind down between classes, during lunch, or after school. In doing so, Shivam also worked towards improving the landscape of MSJHS.

Some of ShivamÕs favorite memories of Scouting have been at summer camps and leadership camps. He attended San Francisco Bay Area CouncilÕs National Youth Leadership Training ÒBrownsea,Ó as a candidate and found a great way to learn leadership, concepts and team development. He also enjoyed the various boating experiences at the different lakes at the various summer camps.

In the future, Shivam plans to continue his dedication to scouting by mentoring other scouts on their Eagle projects and on their path to Eagle, volunteering for staff positions at scout signature events and other activities that will help his community.

We are very proud of ShivamÕs achievement and canÕt wait to see what he accomplishes in the future.